Justin Timberlake, a musician who reached the upper echelons of pop music as an R&B artist, reminded the crowd at the Country Music Association Awards on Wednesday that he's a Memphis boy at heart.

Mr. Timberlake took the stage with Chris Stapleton, who won awards for male vocalist of the year, new artist of the year and album of the year for his first effort. The duo performed "Tennessee Whiskey", a song made popular by George Jones, and "Drink You Away", a twangy, organ-infused song by Mr. Timberlake that has been the subject of covers by the country musicians Craig Morgan and David Fanning.